Communication between BodyCom system devices occurs when they are within a few centimeters of the human body: a simple proximity or touch detection can establish a BodyCom system connection.

The BodyCom system was implemented with the following priorities:

• Very low consumption, especially for the Mobile Unit

• Fast system response

• Stable and Robust communication with Fault detection

• Limited field of action (as little as a few centimeters) to allow an identification when the
touch action takes place from whoever wears the Mobile Unit

• Low cost and complexity

The signal transmission uses capacitive coupling between the human body, the Base Unit and the Mobile Unit (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: BodyCom System Working Principle

Because of this, the signals are more attenuated at low frequencies than at high frequencies, requiring the signals that are transmitted to have higher amplitude for lower frequencies. The Mobile Unit is a battery-powered portable device, and power consumption is a priority, while the Base Unit can deliver more power.

On the video, Applications Engineer Chris Tucker, makes an introduction to BodyCom Technology utilizing the BodyCom Development Kit demonstration.